Films of 1981
These are the films I have seen from the year 1981.
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- DirectorSydney PollackStarsPaul NewmanSally FieldBob BalabanWhen a prosecutor leaks to a Miami reporter that a liquor wholesaler is suspected in the murder of a union head, the man's life begins to unravel.
- DirectorJean-Claude TramontStarsGene HackmanBarbra StreisandDiane LaddA middle-aged executive's lifestyle and values are turned upside down after he is demoted to chain-store night manager.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsDavid NaughtonJenny AgutterJoe BelcherTwo American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
- DirectorSteve GordonStarsDudley MooreLiza MinnelliJohn GielgudAlcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJohn TravoltaNancy AllenJohn LithgowA movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
- DirectorKen BurnsStarsPaul RoeblingJulie HarrisArthur MillerThis documentary chronicles the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The difficult construction process is described in interesting detail; later parts of the film interview current notables who describe the effects that the Brooklyn Bridge has had upon New York society and beyond.
- DirectorHal NeedhamStarsBurt ReynoldsRoger MooreFarrah FawcettA wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country road race. However, the eccentric entrants will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks.
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
- DirectorTommy ChongStarsCheech MarinTommy ChongBenita BarrieDisguised as ice cream vendors, Cheech and Chong make--and subsequently lose--millions of dollars selling a batch of marijuana with an unusual side effect.a/k/a 'Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams'
- DirectorUli EdelStarsNatja BrunckhorstEberhard AurigaPeggy BussieckA teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.
- DirectorDesmond DavisStarsLaurence OlivierHarry HamlinClaire BloomPerseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsJohn BelushiBlair BrownAllen GarfieldA hard-nosed Chicago journalist has an unlikely love affair with an eagle researcher.
- DirectorJean-Jacques BeineixStarsWilhelmenia FernandezFrédéric AndréiRoland BertinTwo tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsPeter MacNicolCaitlin ClarkeRalph RichardsonA young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsNigel TerryHelen MirrenNicholas ClayMerlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsWilliam HurtSigourney WeaverChristopher PlummerA janitor who claims he's seen a murder becomes romantically involved with the glamorous TV reporter covering the story.
- DirectorGraham BakerStarsSam NeillRossano BrazziDon GordonThe now adult Antichrist plots to eliminate his future divine opponent while a cabal of monks plot to stop him.a/k/a 'The Final Conflict'
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsWalter MatthauJill ClayburghBarnard HughesFor the first time in history a woman is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she becomes a friendly rival to a liberal associate.
- DirectorAte de JongStarsJeroen KrabbéMarijke MerckensHenriëtte TolMaarten, a bachelor living with his terminally ill mother, is haunted by a nightmare in which God tells him to lose his virginity or die within the week. He desperately tries to lose his cherry, but only succeeds in doing so after his mother finally passes away, somehow setting him free from the stifling religious atmosphere he grew up in.a/k/a 'A Flight of Rainbirds'
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsPaul NewmanEdward AsnerKen WahlIn New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
- DirectorAlan AldaStarsAlan AldaCarol BurnettLen CariouThree couples vacation together every season. After one divorces, feelings of betrayal and more spawn criticisms of one another, but the things that keep them together are stronger than those which might pull them apart.
- DirectorTed BermanRichard RichArt StevensStarsMickey RooneyKurt RussellPearl BaileyA fox named Tod and a hound named Copper vow to be best friends forever. But as Copper grows into a hunting dog, their unlikely friendship faces the ultimate test.
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsMeryl StreepJeremy IronsHilton McRaeAnna and Mike portray two characters in a film set in 19th century England who fall in love despite the fact that Mike's character is engaged.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonMark LeeBill KerrTwo Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsCraig WassonAlice KrigeFred AstaireTwo generations of men find themselves haunted by the presence of a spectral woman. When the son of one of the elderly men returns to his hometown after his brother's mysterious death, they attempt to unravel her story.
- DirectorJim HensonStarsJim HensonFrank OzDave GoelzKermit the Frog, The Great Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear are reporters who travel to Britain to interview a rich victim of jewel thieves and help her along with her secretary, Miss Piggy.
- DirectorAllan ArkushStarsAndy KaufmanBernadette PetersRandy QuaidTwo household robots run away and try to start a family.
- DirectorGerald PottertonJohn BrunoJohn HalasStarsRichard RomanusJohn CandyJoe FlahertyA glowing green orb that embodies ultimate evil terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories.
- DirectorTom DeSimoneStarsLinda BlairVincent Van PattenPeter BartonFour college pledges are forced to spend the night in a deserted old mansion, where they are stalked by the monstrous survivor of a family massacre years earlier.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsMel BrooksGregory HinesDom DeLuiseMel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsDee WallacePatrick MacneeDennis DuganAfter a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
- DirectorArnaldo JaborStarsSonia BragaPaulo César PeréioVera FischerMan meets woman, and invites her home. The two start an intense relationship in order to shield themselves from loneliness.a/k/a 'I Love You'
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsLily TomlinCharles GrodinNed BeattyA housewife grows smaller and smaller in reaction to chemicals found in cosmetics and household products.
- DirectorJust JaeckinStarsSylvia KristelShane BriantNicholas ClayAfter a injury leaves her husband paralysed, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaGiancarlo GianniniMel FerrerIn 1938, a German singer falls in love with a Jewish composer in Zurich, who helps Jews flee Nazi Germany. She wants to help but is forced back to Germany. Her song "Lili Marleen" becomes a hit with soldiers and the Nazi top brass.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsBarbara SukowaArmin Mueller-StahlMario AdorfA seductive cabaret singer-prostitute pits a corrupt building contractor against the new straight-arrow building commissioner, launching an outrageous plan to elevate herself in a world where everything-and everyone-is for sale.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsAlbert FinneyJames CoburnSusan DeyThree of four models, who had plastic surgery done by Larry after a computed list, are dead. Neither the cops nor Larry believe they're suicides. Larry investigates and stays with the fourth model. Who's behind the lists and murders?
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancStan FrebergJune ForayBugs Bunny hosts an award show featuring several classic Looney Toon shorts.
- DirectorJeanine MeerapfelStarsIngrid CavenGrischa HuberHelmut GriemMalou feels that the difficulties she is experiencing in her relationships lie in her past and so she searches out information about her mother. Her mother, a nightclub singer who lived in Germany, France and Argentina, becomes the focus of a series of flashbacks through which we learn of her mother's stormy life and the difficulty she had in bringing her up. These insights enable Malou to sort out the difficulties in her own life.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerIldikó BánságiKrystyna JandaIn early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?
- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsAlbert BrooksKathryn HarroldTyann MeansAlbert Brooks directs himself as a successful film editor with far too many issues that affects the relationship between him and his remarkably patient girlfriend.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsFaye DunawayDiana ScarwidSteve ForrestThe abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, screen queen Joan Crawford, is depicted.
- DirectorDusan MakavejevStarsSusan AnspachErland JosephsonPer OscarssonA bored wealthy housewife on the verge of insanity cuts loose with some lively Yugoslavian immigrants who delight in their bohemian lifestyle.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydKathryn WalkerA quiet man's peaceful suburban lifestyle is threatened by the new, obnoxious couple that moves in next door.
- DirectorRomano ScavoliniStarsBaird StaffordSharon SmithC.J. CookeA mental patient embarks on a murder spree upon escaping from an institution.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsKatharine HepburnHenry FondaJane FondaNorman is a curmudgeon with an estranged relationship with his daughter Chelsea. At Golden Pond, he and his wife nevertheless agree to care for Billy, the son of Chelsea's new boyfriend, and a most unexpected relationship blooms.
- DirectorLee PhilipsStarsGary ColemanMaureen StapletonNorman FellLester is a homeless shoeshine boy living in a railway station. He's got this funny knack for picking the winning horses' names out of the paper while shining shoes. When word gets around, though, everyone wants a piece of the action.
- DirectorGlenn JordanStarsMarsha MasonKristy McNicholEd MooreA boozy Broadway actress comes out of a 12-week cure to face the problems of her best friends as well as her needy daughter. She tries to balance the terrors of returning to work with the demands of all around her with humor and insight, while staying off the booze.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsSteve MartinBernadette PetersJessica HarperDuring the Great Depression, a sheet-music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineTab HunterEdith MasseyA suburban housewife's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonJessica LangeJohn ColicosThe sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsIsabelle AdjaniMaggie SmithAlan BatesFinding herself penniless after her art-dealer husband Stephan is convicted of theft, Marya Zelli accepts the hospitality of a strange couple, H.J. and Lois Heidler, who let her live in their home.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
- DirectorJack FiskStarsSissy SpacekEric RobertsSam ShepardA divorcee with two sons has an affair with a young sailor passing through her Texas town in 1944.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJames CagneyElizabeth McGovernHoward E. Rollins Jr.A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJacqueline BissetCandice BergenDavid SelbyLiz and Merry become BFFs in college. A decade later, Liz is a serious writer with writer's block, and Merry is a homemaker and a mom who has written a novel. Other bestsellers, riches, and fame follow.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community to get rid of a horde of bandits.a/k/a 'The Road Warrior'
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJulie AndrewsWilliam HoldenMarisa BerensonA successful movie director makes the most expensive film in his career and it becomes a huge flop. He tries to salvage his career by reshooting the film as an erotic production, where its family-friendly star takes her top off.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJennifer O'NeillStephen LackPatrick McGoohanA scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsLesley-Anne DownFrank LangellaMaurice RonetEgyptologist Erica Baron finds more than she bargained for during her long-planned trip to The Land of the Pharoahs: murder, theft, betrayal, love, and a mummy's curse.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayJohn CandyHarold RamisTwo friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
- DirectorGus TrikonisStarsRobert HaysArt CarneyBarbara HersheyFrank is sent to his native town, Millsborough, to increase the local brewery production. He meets old school mates and his former girlfriend, Jane. They quickly fall in love again. Frank is torn between his job.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsGeorge C. ScottTimothy HuttonRonny CoxMilitary cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.
- DirectorJohn DerekStarsBo DerekRichard HarrisMiles O'KeeffeWhile on an African expedition with her father, Jane Parker meets Tarzan, and the two become fascinated by each other.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- DirectorSteve RashStarsChevy ChaseCarrie FisherEve ArdenA visiting dignitary, a CIA agent, a Nazi spy, Japanese tourists, an assassin and a group of "midget" actors from The Wizard of Oz (1939) all check into an elite Los Angeles hotel called Under the Rainbow.
- DirectorMichael WadleighStarsAlbert FinneyDiane VenoraEdward James OlmosA New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge HamiltonLauren HuttonBrenda VaccaroZorro, the legendary swordsman, has passed on his weapon and his sense of duty to his noble son, Diego, a dashing swashbuckler like his father. But after an injury sidelines Diego, he is forced to hand the mask over to his twin, Ramon.